Dissertation defense

Ross Woods, 2020, '22, '23.
With thanks to C. Mεdinα, S. DεVillε, Βrυcε Μεglιnο, Dαvid Ερstειn, & Scοtt Αlεxαndεr.

You are now in the final stage of a doctoral degree by distance education, and face the dissertation defense. You're probably nervous and need advice on how to prepare. You have been assigned a group of experts, none of whom you have met and all of whom will have read the dissertation before the defense. You will do the defense by videoconference beginning with a presentation of about 30-40 minutes, and then you will take questions from the group.

Two agendas

Doctoral examinations usually serve at least three separate but related agendas:

The first is to ensure that you have done a work of substantial, independent research that has resulted in a dissertation that meets degree requirements. This indirectly shows that you can write research of a kind useful in the research community and for publication, and discuss it with other experts.
The second agenda is to show that you have enough initiative to fly solo running your your own research.
The third agend is to show that you are a peer in the research community with something valuable to say.

Preparation

First, most of your work is already done; you are the expert on your particular topic. Be encouraged; the great majority of students pass if they get this far in the doctoral journey.

Second, find out as much as you can about the procedure in your particular institution. Defenses vary from very formal public meetings to informal discussions among colleagues about the research.

Third, some institutions maintain archives of previously recorded defenses. View them (not just one or two) and learn what you can. It will give you hints about presentation skills, both things you want to emulate and things you want to avoid. They will probably indicate the kind of questions that are asked and the kind of answers you should give.

Fourth, prepare your communication. The trick is to make your dissertation intelligible to someone else, so that they get the basics and don't get swamped in details. I call it the complicated art of simplification and it's not as easy as it looks. You have a limited amount of time. When you have the basics clear, then you might be able to add some helpful details.

In a videoconference, you will have the opportunity to share the screen, so a PowerPoint presentation is highly advised. (It is seldom required, but usually permitted.) Keep the number of slides and the number of words on each slide to a minimum. It should focus on the key points that you need to make, and will help keep you and your listeners on track. Some institutions even allow you to send the PowerPoint to the examination committee beforehand.

Then make a separate set of notes on what you will say for each slide. Your notes also keep you on track and make sure you don't miss anything essential. I don't recommend reading your notes word-for-word; it usually sounds stilted and artificial. However, some students do read them and have found it to be helpful.

Treat it like a presentation in a conference or to an audience that is learning about your study. Here's a basic list of what to put in your presentation:

Follow the outline of your abstract.
Give your topic and say why you chose it, a summary of your work, the decisions you made, your conclusions or findings, and the implications of the research.

Fifth, rehearse a lot, privately at first and then with a colleague or family member. You need more practice than you think, especially if you still feel: It's kind of okay and I think I can wing it from here.

Lots of practice will help you in many ways:

Something that looks good on paper might not make sense when you say it out loud. And then it doesn't make sense again when you say it to real people. Or they tell you that it doesn't seem to make sense. Practice gives you opportunity to revise and improve your notes. (Some students find that unrevised preparation is confusing in the actual defense, when it's too late to find out that something doesn't make sense.)
Practice setting up your PowerPoint and moving through the slides as you speak. (A glitch at last minute is very disconcerting.)

In particular, practice will help reduce the effects of nervousness, and help you to be comfortable, relaxed and confident with your presentation. For example:

You will learn to breathe and speak slowly. (Nervous speakers unconsciously tend to speak very fast.)
It will help you not to be defensive, which is also an unconscious reaction. Your superviser thought you were ready for the defense, the examiners will normally be sympathetic and inclined to pass you, and the moderator's role is to ensure questions are fair. If you become defensive, you will be less able to give good answers and might even dig yourself into a hole. (Some people find it helpful to ask themselves, “Why am I getting this question now?”)
It will help you to pause and think about each question before answering it. You might want to restate the question, or even say what you think it is asking. You might want to list a range of factors affecting the answer. This will give you a little time to think out loud. (Put another way, don't blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.)

The questions

The committee chairperson normally moderates discussion. This includes ensuring that all questions are fair, even if they are tough. Many chairpersons will deliberately try to put you at ease, and your best scenario is that the discussion is very organic and informal.

Simply answer the questions you are asked to the best of your ability. You might also have opportunity to respond to any comments of the committee, but this will depend on the chairperson. You are the expert, and the committee will be able to tell if you don’t know your research.

Questions might be on the following topics: why this topic, explain your decisions and methods, explain apparent inconsistencies in your work, explore implications and actions based on your results, consider possible further research in the specific field, and place your research in its field of study.

At the beginning, they might ask you to simply report factual information (“Describe how you … ”). However, many questions are deliberately asking you to think, or to find out whether you have already thought further than simply what you have written. For example, they might ask, “What are the implications of your findings for … ?” Some examiners might also want to find your limitations and find out if you are curious and have foresight. For example, they might ask about where you think your field of research is going.

The committee will probably then confer privately and come to a decision. In many institutions, the chairperson will give you some indication of whether or not you have passed. Some simply say Congratulations Dr. ....